ACC
Students, Faculty, Staff Invited to March 30 Forum at St. Edward’sPosted: 07 Mar 2012 07:35
AM PSTThe ACC community is invited to attend
a forum on higher education at St. Edward’s University on Friday, March
30 (11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Co-hosted by the Center for Ethics and
Leadership and the New College at St. Edward’s, the event will explore
this question: “Can Higher Education Help Solve our Toughest Problems?”
This free, public forum will test a new issue guide being produced by the
National Issues Forum (NIF) while bringing together students, individuals
from the business sector, nonprofits, government, education and civic groups.
They will explore the role higher education plays in helping respond to
current economic struggles, growing gaps in society, loss of community
and ability to work together.

Vicki Totten, associate professor of Counseling
in New College, and Jack Green Musselman, director of the Center for Ethics
and Leadership, will lead the university’s involvement with NIF, a network
of practitioners who promote public deliberation.

This event is being designed and convened
by undergraduate, New College, and graduate students at St. Edward’s who
will learn how to plan and manage a community forum, understand the process
of framing an issue for deliberation, and convene and moderate discussions.
The dialogue will focus on how to increase the civic capacity of college
students so they play a part in solving society’s problems.

The forum will utilize an issue discussion
guide created by NIF. The discussion guide is framed in a way that is authentic
to people’s experience with the issue, reflects alternatives that help
people move out of deeply entrenched positions, encourages participants
to talk through the gray aspects of the issue to find new ways of moving
forward together, and is rooted in what people hold deeply valuable.

The forum will begin with a short panel
presentation where local leaders will discuss the material highlighted
in the NIF discussion guide. Panelists include:

Attendees will then participate
in small-group, moderated discussions to identify issues and actions that
they think are most important on this topic. Outcomes from the discussion
will not only help inform local conversations regarding how higher education
institutions can help positively impact communities, but will also inform
a national discussion in 2012 about this critical issue.

The catalyst for the forum is a year-long
national initiative entitled “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims
Our Civic Mission” which was launched in January 2012 by the White House
Office of Public Engagement, American Commonwealth Project, Association
of American Colleges and Universities and Department of Education. This
initiative will examine the role higher education can play in deepening
the civic identity of educational institutions in ways which more fully
engage democratic communities.

This will be a unique opportunity for community
members from different backgrounds to come together and contribute their
thoughts and ideas on this important topic. It will also be a great opportunity
to connect with local leaders, students and community members who are concerned
with the role of higher education in communities.

The following St. Edward’s University students
and recent alumni are planning the event: Sonya Apodaca MAHS; Christina
Ceballos MSOLE; Diana Ford MLA; Raul Garza MLA, Laura Kelly, New College,
Business Administration; Michael Kersey MSOLE; Cristina Lopez, Political
Science; Marcus Nash MSOLE; and Robert Null, Political Science.